Pirates

Kids of all ages love pirates. Many people go through a phase in their lives when they even want to be a pirate.

Many children first learn about pirates when they discover the story of Peter Pan. Peter Pan and his band of Lost Boys, Tinker Bell, Wendy, and all her brothers are interesting enough but the evil pirate, Captain Hook, is simply unforgettable.

As we grow older, our interest in pirates often grows, too, when we read about Gulliver’s travels, Robinson Crusoe, and what happens at 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Pirates of the Caribbean is the name of a wild, and wildly popular, ride at the Disney theme parks that usually has the longest lines. The lines are so long because everybody loves these rides. Everybody loves pirates.

The Pirates of the Caribbean movies have thrilled kids (and their parents) in recent years and they seem to be gaining in popularity even as the years go by. The lead actor, Johnny Depp, makes just about the best pirate ever.

Dreaming of the life of a pirate brings up ideas of wild but way cool stuff, like having a pet parrot sitting on your shoulder, doing the talking for you. And sword fights. Hidden treasures. Shipwrecks.

Pirates let the bad guys walk the gang plank – all the way over the side of the ship and into the ocean. Pirates often call the ocean the briny deep because brine is salty, just like sea water. And pirates say Davy Jones locker is down there, all the way at the very deepest, darkest, bottom of the sea.

Pirates talk funny, too. “Ahoy, matey” and stuff like that. They drink grog and walk on peg legs and wear eye patches instead of eye glasses. They give their ships funny names; some of them are scary sounding but others are the same name as their girlfriend or wife.

Pirates talk so funny that today we have a special day set aside every September just so everybody all around the world can talk like a pirate. So shiver yer timbers and sail away! And remember to talk like a pirate on International Pirates Day, lads and lassies from all four corners of the earth, one and all!